The use of fibrous material is commonly known in various types of mixtures and composite materials. Fibres known under trade names such as “Fibre Mesh” and “Nycon” are known to be used in concrete mixes for improving certain performance characteristics of the concrete. When using a volumetric batching system for mixing concrete, fibrous material is required to be mixed with other components of the mixture in a metered flow as opposed to a typical central batch system that measures components in a separate plant and then charges a mixer. In the central batch system a measured amount of fibres are added to the concrete batch and distributed through the mass during a mixing process. The volumetric system however requires that the fibrous material be fed as a flow rate in a continuous and consistent fashion.
Fibres used in the concrete industry however have proven to be very difficult to meter mechanically. One known method includes packaging the fibres in a tube and, using a hydraulic of air cylinder, press them through an orifice where a set of rotating fingers break them apart and draw them through the orifice in a somewhat metered fashion. The metering rate is determined by the movement of the hydraulic cylinder. This system is owned by a US manufacturer known as Cemen-tec. Problems with this system include the requirement for an end user to purchase the fibre product from a single supplier who packages the product into the required tubes. Furthermore because the fibre product is compressive, the delivery of the fibres is not always proportional to the movement of the cylinder and therefore feed is not consistent. If pressure is not released, fibres may be continued to be dispensed beyond what is desired and upon subsequent resuming of delivery of fibres, there may be a certain amount of delay due to movement of the cylinder that must occur before the fibres are discharged when sufficient pressure is again built up. This is particularly a problem with concrete as it is frequently delivered in small quantities such as into wheelbarrows. In general the known systems for dispensing fibrous material are cumbersome and costly to install and use.